Indonesia saw an increased influx of foreign tourists in September of 650,100 people, an increase of 16 percent from the same month last year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) has reported.

The figure also represents an increase of 4.7 percent on August, the BPS added.

From January to September, the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia totaled 5.61 million, an 8.3 percent rise compared with the same period last year, which stood at 5.19 million.

BPS deputy head for statistics, distributions and services Djamal said that Bali remained the most popular destination for foreign visitors, with the number of foreign tourists visiting the island in September totaling 252,900, up by 8.75 percent from the September 2010 figure.

“Compared with August, however, the number of foreign visitors to Bali only rose slightly by 0.06 percent,” Djamal said, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) plans to visit Turkey to develop partnership in strategic industry and economy with the country, Foreign minister Retno Marsudi said here on Monday at the state palace after a meeting prior to the presidents visit to Turkey and Germany.